Was it too late?The Dallas Cowboys made the blockbuster trade

for Amari Cooper with a fairly clear intention of turning the season around. That means making the playoffs. The problem Jamize Olawale Color Rush Jersey , of course, is that 3-4 record and the current game-and-a-half lead Washington has in the NFC East. Dallas is in a hole, and with just nine games to go, that lead will be hard to overcome. And with Washington facing the woeful New York Giants this week while the Cowboys are on a bye, the lead is more than likely going to be two full games soon. They are, of course, not mathematically eliminated, and won’t be for some time. But there is a big difference between what is theoretically possible and what can actually be attained.So is it time to just give up on the playoffs and start complaining about how the team wasted that first-round pick to get Cooper? Or is there still a realistic hope that Dallas can make the postseason? I asked my fellow front page writers and this is what they think.Michael Strawn: A “realistic chance” at the playoffs? I don’t know. The team would have to go 7-2 over the final nine games to finish 10-6 which would likely assure them of the playoffs and I just don’t see that happening. However, the NFC East is a tire fire this year so it’s very possible that 9-7 (or even 8-8) wins the division. Those are records that seem “realistic”.The Cowboys have played challenging defenses so far this season and, with the addition of Amari Cooper, you don’t have to squint too hard to see the offense improving to, say, mediocre. Well, combined with this defense, that might be enough to go 6-3 or 5-4 the rest of the way. The key then would be sweeping the team’s remaining division contests. Specifically, the team would have to go 3-0 in the team’s remaining games against Washington and Philadelphia. If, somehow, they could do that, then yes, they have a “realistic” shot at the playoffs.DannyPhantom: Playoffs? Playoffs? Yeah, I know - that Jim Mora joke is overused, but that’s how I feel right now after watching this offense spin its wheels for the better part of the season. In a vacuum, these first seven games give us no reason to even think about post-season contention, but luckily for us there are some outside elements that keep things interesting. The first part is - what’s the deal with the Eagles? Shouldn’t they be 11-0 by now? All I’ve been hearing is how they have the best front office in the world with the best coach in the world to go along with the most talented QB in the world and the deepest defense in the world. How is possible that they’re only 3-4 as well? The Eagles not being this dominant force everyone told us they were going to be opens the door for the Cowboys to survive a slow start. The Redskins are a decent team, but they’re not so good that they’re uncatchable. That means the onus is on the Cowboys to play some good football so they can stay in this thing. Can they do it? There is really no reason for me to believe this offense is not going to keep having problems. Maybe not the deadwood problems of complete ineffectiveness they’ve shown at times this year, but problems nonetheless. The addition of Amari Cooper brings about hope. Will Dak actually throw the ball down the field? Can the offense come up with a big play here and there? Can they convert a third and long every now and then like regular teams do? These are all things the front office and coaching staff are scratching and clawing to help improve this football team. Hats off to them for putting up a fight. But for us fans to genuinely be excited about things getting better, we are going to need to see some evidence on the field. This team certainly has a chance, but the biggest reasons 3-4 teams don’t make the playoffs is because they are 3-4 caliber level teams. That is what the Cowboys are with an anemic offense showing up on Sundays. If they can get that fixed, then their reality looks a lot more promising.Michael Sisemore: The only way the Cowboys realistically have a chance to make the playoffs is by winning the division. Washington has an easier path so the Cowboys will have make up a lot of ground for this to happen. The Cowboys have also lost to Washington, Carolina, and Seattle. That’s an NFC nightmare of losses to have to overcome because all of them have tiebreakers over the Cowboys for a Wildcard berth. How much does Amari Cooper help the passing game? Can the “Hot Boyz” get hot again? Can this offensive line stop averaging four penalties on the road? Heck, can the Cowboys ever win an away game? So many things have to happen for them to have a shot at the postseason and they’ve already wasted precious time digging their hole. For that, the Cowboys may get to 9-7 but they’re missing the playoffs.David Howman: Playoffs are still very much realistic for this Cowboys team, but not necessarily because the Cowboys are any good. The rest of their schedule is a combined 24-27 record, and only two of those teams have a winning record at the moment. One is the Redskins, a team the Cowboys are very capable of beating, especially at home. The other is the Saints https://www.dallascowboysfanshop.com/Byron-Jones-Jersey , so chalk that up as a loss already.Another big factor is that Dallas has five home games left and only four road games, which is huge considering how much better this team is at home. Two of those road games are the hapless Giants and Colts as well, so if the Cowboys win those two and continue their home dominance, we’re looking at a 10-6 record that should be good enough for the playoffs.The presence of Amari Cooper is also going to be a huge factor here. If he hits the ground running, all of this becomes much more plausible. Even so, the dire states of the NFC East and a lack of any real wild card contenders so far makes the playoffs very realisticThe general consensus seems to be that the weakness of the division, and the coming schedule, makes that playoff chance more plausible than it would be in most years. And Cooper is obviously an enormous X-factor. So much depends on how he fits in, and how the Cowboys are able to use him.But it will certainly still be tough, with not much margin for error as they try to catch Washington while getting and staying ahead of the Philadelphia Eagles. First, they again face a near must-win game against the Tennessee Titans after the bye. We will no doubt revisit things once that plays out.Cowboys dominate Jaguars whistle to whistle in 40-7 blowout What in blue blazes just happened? Well, it was almost all good for the Dallas Cowboys, as they didn’t just win a game they just about had to have to keep any hopes for the season alive, they flat-out dominated the Jacksonville Jaguars 40-7.From the beginning, the team with the Star on their helmet didn’t look at all like the one we have been watching so far this year. The first half was as complete a performance as we have seen in a long, long time. They put up 24 points on one of the best defenses in the NFL, especially against the pass. They racked up 17 first downs, amassed 251 yards, converted six of nine first downs, and scored a touchdown on all three of their trips to the red zone. Cole Beasley was virtually unstoppable, with six receptions and two touchdowns against a defense that just seemed unable to find him. Meanwhile, the Dallas defense was throttling Jacksonville, limiting them to only 64 yards and three first downs, with two sacks of Blake Bortles. Oh, and they did not have a penalty called against them, while the Jaguars gifted them with a first down when they had 12 men on the field on a punt - and that led to the third touchdown for Dallas. The Cowboys did not even have an official punt in the first half, thanks to that penalty just mentioned.Things slacked off for both the offense and defense after halftime, as the Cowboys had two three-and-outs while the Jaguars finally got a touchdown halfway through the third quarter. But the Cowboys got some offense going again, getting Brett Maher (who is rapidly making us forget the unease at the release of Dan Bailey) into position for a field goal, then getting a rebound pass interception by Jeff Heath that set them up in the red zone again. That only led to another Maher field goal, but staked the Cowboys to a 23 point lead with just 16:17 left to play. Then, on the next offensive play for the Jags, Jaylon Smith forced a Keelan Cole fumble, and Jourdan Lewis (who had by far his best game of the season) managed to recover the ball at the Jacksonville 31 just before he slid out of bounds. Ezekiel Elliott would do the rest, with a 21 yard run and a 15 yard touchdown sandwiched around a Dallas delay of game penalty (and the end of the third quarter). From there, it was largely academic as the hill was far too steep for the Jaguars to climb.It was an extremely encouraging performance from the Cowboys - but it leaves one lingering question. Is this the real team, or just an aberration? Was it more about execution or luck? They certainly got some of the latter as Prescott had not one but two fumbles bounce right back into his arms Zack Martin Jersey , one of which he converted for a first down on the way to another of their touchdowns. Prescott made a lot more throws, but still had some very awkward looking deliveries, and missed some long shots. Ezekiel Elliott was not exactly running free early as the Jaguars kept him mostly contained until Dallas wore their defense down in the second half. They didn’t need him to carry the team as the passing game finally took up the lead at crucial times, and Prescott had the best game running the ball of his career, but will that carry forward? The team still has shown no real consistency week to week - although there might be a real home field advantage for Dallas this year, with all three wins coming at AT&T Stadium, and the losses all on the road.Still, the up and down performances will not take this team very far. For this game, the players made a lot more plays than they blew, and the play calling, perhaps as a consequence, looked far, far better. It also didn’t hurt to have Dak making something out of nothing repeatedly when he escaped pressure and got up the field. And getting two takeaways while not giving the ball up (those two near-fumbles could have changed things so much) was big as well. They also converted two fourth downs (in situations that will just further irritate all of us who were so upset with that punt in overtime last week). Beasley became the first 100-yard receiver of the season. Elliott wore them down to get another 100-yard rushing game. Randy Gregory got a sack, and David Irving had a tackle for a loss, so they look to be back as well. But they have to repeat this performance. Over and over.Prescott is the crucial element here. If this is the way he is going to play the rest of the way, this team may be able to string together wins and get into the playoffs. If there was something that might be pointed to as a lingering concern, it was that the total yards passing were not exactly impressive. But with the way Dak and Zeke combined to move the ball on the ground, efficiency was much more important, and the Cowboys had that. It is rare that you see an NFL team gain more rushing the ball than throwing it, especially when they are over 350 yards in total offense, but it worked. And again, it was against one of the top defenses in the league against the pass. It may have been, to a degree, Dallas taking what they gave them. And they gave them a lot. Still, no matter how you look at things, this was easily the best game of the year for the Cowboys as a team, and for several players individually. Getting to 40 points is significant in the NFL, as is topping 200 yards on the ground and getting close to 400 total. Heck, when you get to put Cooper Rush and Rod Smith in to finish things up, it’s just domination. If this is what the team really is, then the season may wind up better than we thought just a week ago.But if it is just a blip where things just aligned as they do at times in the NFL, then as enjoyable as this game was, it was just a tease. On to Washington, which now has just a half game lead over Dallas for the NFC East lead.